One tenacious player has managed to beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Expert difficulty without parrying or dodging a single hit. The feat highlights the RPG’s high degree of tactical flexibility, demonstrating that players can succeed even while actively avoiding some of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s core mechanics.
The all-hit run was accomplished by Ymfah, a YouTuber of 13 years known for meme-worthy gaming challenges. The Korean content creator has a long list of impressive achievements, including a Cuphead-themed playthrough of Dark Souls 3, a gun-only challenge in Bloodborne, and a zero-equip load run in Skyrim.
Now, Ymfah has added an all-hit playthrough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to his growing library of gaming feats. Making matters even more impressive, the run was completed on the RPG’s highest setting, Expert Mode. According to the game itself, this mode “requires mastering Dodges and Parries.” Yet, Ymfah disproved that notion by facetanking his way through every encounter, proving sheer resilience can replace reflexes—though not without some hiccups.
An All-Hit Run of Clair Obscur Requires Turning Every Character Into a Tank
To succeed under such conditions, Ymfah devised a vitality-first strategy. Rather than following conventional wisdom for party-specific builds, he focused on raising the Vitality attribute for every character. The logic was simple: more health meant greater survivability, especially since bosses hit devastatingly hard on Expert difficulty.
Another critical element was manipulating the Break bar system. Normally, this mechanic only shines during extended boss fights, but in a no-dodge, no-parry run, it became a cornerstone of survival. By prioritizing enemy Break bars over raw damage, Ymfah forced foes to lose turns—buying precious breathing room in an otherwise relentless gauntlet.
Overcoming the Dodge Tutorial
Interestingly, the run almost ended before it began. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 opens with a mandatory dodge tutorial. To bypass this, Ymfah discovered that disabling tutorials allowed him to proceed without violating his self-imposed rules. From there, the challenge turned into an extreme application of theory-crafted facetank builds, stretched to their absolute limits.
Despite Clair Obscur blending turn-based combat with real-time action mechanics, this run proves the game’s design flexibility. Even without dodges or parries—two mechanics the developers emphasize as essential—success is possible through clever strategy and resource management.
Ymfah’s feat cements his place among the most creative challenge-run YouTubers, while also showing that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can stand proudly beside other RPG giants like Dark Souls and Bloodborne in terms of community-driven innovation.